Fatal accident raises concerns about jaywalking in Desert Hot Springs

The man who was hit and killed by a vehicle after attempting to illegally cross the street in his wheelchair in Desert Hot Springs was identified on Friday.

Fred Bambucsh, 51, was crossing the street just south of Hacienda Avenue on Palm Drive on Thursday, May 14.

Many people said there needs to be more and better cross walks along that stretch of road.

It’s an everyday problem in Desert Hot Springs; people illegally crossing the street, sometimes walking directly into traffic.

Ignacio Castaneda works at a dealership on Palm Drive and said it’s a huge issue

Some of the people, I’ll see them just cross the street they’ll stand in the middle. They’ll start dancing or stopping people or they’ll try to chase the car. It’s a sad thing but it does happen,” Castaneda said.

Other residents said the problem is just getting worse.

“One of the biggest things I’ve seen lately is that people will be blindly walking across the street, looking at their cellphone and won’t even look for traffic,” resident Amanda Houenou said.

Desert Hot Springs police said this problem has been going on for years.

“But the problem is getting people to use the crosswalks. I’ve seen people cross the street 20 feet from a crosswalk, running through traffic at a red light instead of going up to the crosswalk and using the crosswalk,” Sargent Larry Essex said.

While the city agrees something needs to be done, they said they simply don’t have the money.

Council member Joe McKee said a number of things need to happen before the city can address the jaywalking problem.

He said the distance between crosswalks is too long and the road needs better lighting.

Castaneda agrees, but wonders if that will even fix the issue.

“I think they should put at least another light, maybe a crosswalk or both for that matter. I mean it’s going to continue to happen, it might slow it down but it will still happen,” Castaneda said.

Friends of Bambucsh have started a Go Fund Me account to help raise money for his funeral expenses.